Current Legal News

Stay current with legal news in Tennessee. This page features the latest news for and about the Tennessee legal community, either produced by the Tennessee Bar Association or collected from news sources.

State Sen. Jim Kyle is asking the Tennessee Attorney General for a legal opinion on how the process will work for putting his Senate seat on the November ballot and how party nominees should be chosen. Kyle is leaving the legislature two years into a four-year term after he was elected this month to the Chancery Court. In seeking the opinion, Kyle cites “the confusion and the ambiguity of the statute” that governs the process. In related news, the Shelby County Democratic Party executive committee had been set to select a nominee for the Senate seat tomorrow but have put off that meeting until more guidance is available. The Memphis Daily News has both stories.

The Shelby County Election Commission certified the August election results yesterday, clearing the way for those who won to be sworn in this week. Judges will take the oath of office on Friday afternoon at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Memphis. The Memphis Daily News has more on the story. In addition, the Commercial Appeal reports that U.S. Department of Justice monitors observing the county’s election did not report any findings of impropriety.

John Buster Hemmings of Lexington, Virginia, died Saturday. He was 88. A native of West Virginia, Hemmings attended the University of Virginia and its law school. He spent most of his career as a partner with the Penn Stuart law firm in Abingdon, where he specialized in wills, trusts and estates. His work took him throughout southwest Virginia and eastern Tennessee. A memorial service will be held at Grace Presbyterian Church in Lexington at 2 p.m. on Thursday with a reception to follow. Read more about his life in TriCities.com.

Memphis’ oldest law firm, Apperson Crump, is expanding its family law practice with the acquisition of the Putnam Firm PLC, the Memphis Business Journal reports. The move adds attorneys Rachael Putnam and Austin Rainey, counsel Cynthia Pensoneau and several staff members to the firm. Putnam joins as a partner. In announcing the news, Apperson Crump Managing Partner Richard Myers said, “These additions substantially augment our existing family law practice."

State Sen. Brian Kelsey today released the names of 26 witnesses scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee Sept. 15-16 regarding proposed state criminal justice reforms. The witnesses include Attorney General Robert Cooper, Court of Criminal Appeals Judge John Everett Williams, TBI Director Mark Gwyn, Department of Safety Commissioner Bill Gibbons, Parole Board Chair Richard Montgomery, and several academics, mayors, district attorneys, public defenders, attorneys and law enforcement officers. See the full list on Chattanoogan.com.

While years of unpaid taxes and past-due child support were viewed by some as an issue that might keep him from serving as judge, no challenge was filed to the election of Roger Miller as Anderson County’s Division II General Sessions Court judge. The deadline to file suit passed last week, Knoxnews reports. Miller, a Republican, defeated longtime Judge Ron Murch, a Democrat, in the Aug. 7 election. Murch said Monday that the short time frame for contesting an election and the “very technical nature of those suits” precluded any challenge, though he said an ouster lawsuit could be filed after Miller takes office. Under that scenario, “there would be more time to thoroughly research” the issues, Murch said.

The Governor’s Commission for Judicial Appointments is accepting applications for a vacancy on the 21st Judicial District Circuit Court, created by the appointment of Judge Timothy Easter to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. Those interested in being considered for the seat must apply to the AOC by Sept. 16. The commission will interview qualified applicants in Franklin on Sept. 30. Learn more on the AOC website.

The Cleveland City Council yesterday selected Barrett Painter as the new municipal judge, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. Painter, an attorney with the firm of Chancey, Kanavos, Love & Painter, was selected over Andrew Morgan, an associate at Richard Banks & Associates and a member of the Cleveland City Council. Painter’s selection continues a family tradition. His father, Harlan Painter, served as Cleveland city attorney for over 40 years. Painter will be sworn in Sept. 8 at the Museum Center at Five Points. He will replace interim city judge George McCoin, who has been serving since the death of Judge Bill Moss.

Austin Peay State University in Clarksville will host four documentaries on the history of civil rights in America during the month of September. The films, which will screen at 7 p.m. on Tuesday nights, are part of the National Endowment for the Humanities’ program “Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle.” The initiative is designed to encourage discussions of America’s civil rights history. With each film, the university will host a forum and discussion. The films are The Abolitionists, Sept. 9; The Loving Story, Sept. 16; Freedom Riders, Sept. 23; and Slavery by Another Name, Sept. 30. Learn more in Business & Heritage Clarksville.

Memphis lawyers are gathering for the Fourth Annual Seersucker Flash Mob this Friday at noon in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel. The hotel is located at 149 Union Ave., Memphis 38103. Contact Bill Haltom at whaltom@lewisthomason.com or (901) 525-8721 for more details.

In what may be the first international review of Tennessee's retention elections, an article in the latest issue of the Economist argues that electing judges is a bad idea because judges are not like politicians. “It is fine for a politician to make deals with voters ... But it is an abuse of power for a judge to promise – or even hint – that he will decide future cases on any basis other than the facts and the law.” The piece points to comments from Alexis de Tocqueville, whose travels in America coincided with the spread of judicial elections. Tocqueville called judicial elections an attack “against the democratic republic itself” and predicted they would “sooner or later, have disastrous results.” The editors conclude that while elections originally were seen as a way to insulate judicial nominations from the perception of corruption, they now are having the opposite effect.

The Governor’s Commission for Judicial Appointments will consider 15 applicants when it meets Sept. 10 in Memphis to select nominees for a vacancy on the Shelby County Chancery Court. That post is open due to the appointment of Chancellor Kenny Armstrong to the Tennessee Court of Appeals. The applicants are: Mischelle Alexander-Best, Kenneth Raymond Besser, Matthew G. Buyer, Julie Ann Dichtel Byrd, Oscar C. Carr III, Lee Ann Pafford Dobson, Charles W. McDonald, Kimbrough Brown Mullins, James Robert Newsom III, Howard Rex Peppel, David L. Pool, Kevin E. Reed, William Michael Richards, Dennis J. Sossaman and David Michael Waldrop. The commission will interview the applicants at the Hilton Memphis beginning at 9 a.m. with a public comment session. Applications from all the candidates can be found on the AOC website.

Juvenile Court Judge Rob Philyaw said he is not reappointing two of six court magistrates, Chattanoogan.com reports. Leaving their posts will be Emma Andrews, who has been a magistrate for 16 years, and Elizabeth Gentzler, a magistrate for four years. Both handled child support and parentage cases at the Child Support Division. Philyaw described his actions saying, “The magistrates serve at the pleasure of the judge. Coming into a new term, it has been decided to not reappoint these two ...” Philyaw also said a replacement for Andrews has been chosen, but he is not yet ready to announce the name.

Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Gary Wade has appointed Senior Judge Jon Kerry Blackwood to hear Tom McFarland’s election lawsuit, the Roane County News reports. McFarland lost to Mike Pemberton in the race for 9th Judicial District Circuit Court judge. He is now suing Pemberton, the Roane County Election Commission and the Tennessee Coordinator of Elections claiming Pemberton did not meet residency requirements. WATE News 6 has more on the suit.

Three women who filed suit in federal court against Memphis and Shelby County over the untested rape kit backlog have refiled the suit in Shelby County Circuit Court. Attorneys for the women asked the federal court to dismiss the case, which it did last week. The state suit repeats claims made in the original suit but does not include the claim that the backlog violates the U.S. Constitution. The women are seeking class-action status for their claim of negligence, which is based on the state Governmental Tort Liabilities Act. The move does not impact a “Jane Doe” lawsuit working its way through federal court, Memphis Daily News reports.

Two Tennessee officials are asking a federal appeals court to find that they did not violate the rights of Occupy Nashville protesters arrested in October 2011, the Times Free Press reports. U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger last year found Safety Commissioner Bill Gibbons and former General Services Commissioner Steven Cates violated protesters’ rights when they imposed a last-minute curfew and then had those who refused to leave arrested. In briefs filed with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the state argues that Gibbons and Cates should be granted qualified immunity for their actions. Because Gibbons is married to 6th Circuit Judge Julia Gibbons, all judges in the circuit have recused themselves. A panel of three judges from other circuits heard arguments in Cincinnati today.

State Sen. Jim Tracy today conceded the Fourth Congressional District Republican primary to U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, giving up on a nearly two-year campaign that he lost by just 38 votes. While he said he saw evidence that the race was even closer, Tracy said he did not want to hurt the party by prolonging the election any further. The Tennessean reports that while Tracy did not explicitly endorse DesJarlais, he made his loyalty to the party clear. DesJarlais will face Democrat Lenda Sherrell in the November general election.

Robert J. “Bob” Jessee of Johnson City died Aug. 20. He was 60. A native of Bristol, Jessee graduated from the University of Tennessee and received his law degree from the Memphis State University Law School. He began the practice of law in 1978 in the office of Richard Pectol & Associates. He and his brother, Thomas C. Jessee, later formed the firm of Jessee & Jessee Attorneys in 1981. Jessee was a former president of the Washington County Bar Association and member of the Tennessee Criminal Defense Lawyers. The family received friends last Friday and will have a private graveside service. In lieu of flowers, donations to Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the National Park Foundation or Second Harvest of East Tennessee are encouraged. Read more about Jessee’s life at TriCities.com.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for Noura Jackson, a Shelby County woman convicted of the second-degree murder of her mother, because the court found there were constitutional errors made in the course of the proceedings. Specifically, the court found that Jackson’s right to remain silent, not testify at trial and receive due process was violated. Download the opinion.

Memphis is one of 25 cities being targeted by the National Bar Association (NBA) as part of a national campaign to gain access to police department records. Beginning Sept. 1, the group says it will file open records requests and send preservation of evidence notices to police departments with “an alleged history of police misconduct and brutality.” The requests will seek details about the number of individuals who have been killed, racially profiled, wrongfully arrested and/or injured while pursued or in custody. The NBA will release its findings to the public and urge the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a full investigation of any problems found. Read more on the NBA website.